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Thursday, May 27, 2010

June is Judgment Month

To say that the Toronto Blue Jays have an uphill battle this June would be a gargantuan understatement.

It's still too early to gauge whether the Jays will continue to exceed expectations through the 2010 campaign, but if you want a true litmus test to see if this squad is the real deal, look no further than their upcoming June schedule.

It's arguably one of the toughest in baseball: with nine games split between the Yankees and Rays, and 15 Interleague games against some of the perennial favourites in the National League.

Just take a glimpse at the kind of competition the Blue Jays will be stacked up against in the comings weeks. Aside from a reprive at the end of the month against the Cleveland Indians, all series are against teams with a winning record, and in most cases ... a superior winning record.

Team

Record

PCT

Rays

32-15

.681

Yankees

28-18

.609

Rockies

24-22

.522

Padres

28-18

.609

Giants

23-22

.511

Cardinals

26-11

.553

Phillies

26-19

.578

Indians

17-28

.378

TOTAL

204-153

.571

And just when you thought the Blue Jays would have a little bit of a breather mid-month against the lowly San Diego Padres, now they have to face off against a revitalized Padres team that leads the NL West Division.

If the Blue Jays want to stay in the hunt approaching the All-Star Break, they need to post no worse than an 11-16 record in June to emerge the at the end of the month with just a .500 record at 38-38.

That seems like a fairly reasonable expectation considering the kind of competition they will be facing this June. But it's not going to be a cakewalk: they play 15 games on the road, and 12 against teams that made the playoffs last season and also look to repeat this year.

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About the Blue Jay Hunter

The Blue Jay Hunter is a blog about the Toronto Blue Jays, which takes a look at the team under the microscope. Mixed in with just a hint of humour, and a shred of dignity. I also have an affinity for baseball moustaches.